Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Doctor Who Vs. A Night To Remember

This British cinematic adaptation of Walter Lord's best-selling book, A Night to Remember (Holt, 1955) was released by Rank in 1958, and recounts the final night on board RMS Titanic. The film was directed by Roy Ward Baker, and producer William MacQuitty used White Star Line blueprints to create life-like sets, while Titanic officer Joseph Boxhall was a consultant.
Despite it's modest production values, A Night to Remember is still regarded by critics as the most historically accurate of the many Titanic movies, and earned a Golden Globe award.

The story of the 'unsinkable' liner's loss in 1912 was told from the point of view of her passengers and crew, principally Second Officer Charles Lightoller, portrayed by Kenneth More (1914-1982).
Bob Ballard's discovery of the wreck of Titanic in 1985 sparked a fresh wave of public interest in the disaster, and Lord (1917-2002) penned a sequel, The Night Lives On (1986) and even acted as a consultant on James Cameron's Titanic (1997).

This film featured twenty-two future Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

Honor Blackman (Mrs Lucas) went on to find global fame as Cathy Gale in The Avengers (1962-64) and Bond girl, Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, before playing Professor Lasky in The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids, and voiced Queen Anahita for The Children of Seth (Big Finish, 2011)

Roanld Allen (Clarke) was Rago in The Dominators, and Professor Ralph Cornish in The Ambassadors of Death